The Billion-Dollar Molecule: The Quest for the Perfect Drug
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- Create Date：2022-09-24 05:52:03
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Barry Werth
- ISBN：0671510576
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Summary
Join journalist Barry Werth as he pulls back the curtain on Vertex， a start-up pharmaceutical company， and witness firsthand the intense drama being played out in the pioneering and hugely profitable field of drug research。
Founded by Joshua Boger， a dynamic Harvard- and Merck-trained scientific whiz kid， Vertex is dedicated to designing—atom by atom—both a new life-saving immunosuppressant drug， and a drug to combat the virus that causes AIDS。
You will be hooked from start to finish， as you go from the labs， where obsessive， fiercely competitive scientists struggle for a breakthrough， to Wall Street， where the wheeling and dealing takes on a life of its own， as Boger courts investors and finally decides to take Vertex public。 Here is a fascinating no-holds-barred account of the business of science， which includes an updated epilogue about the most recent developments in the quest for a drug to cure AIDS。
Founded by Joshua Boger， a dynamic Harvard- and Merck-trained scientific whiz kid， Vertex is dedicated to designing—atom by atom—both a new life-saving immunosuppressant drug， and a drug to combat the virus that causes AIDS。
You will be hooked from start to finish， as you go from the labs， where obsessive， fiercely competitive scientists struggle for a breakthrough， to Wall Street， where the wheeling and dealing takes on a life of its own， as Boger courts investors and finally decides to take Vertex public。 Here is a fascinating no-holds-barred account of the business of science， which includes an updated epilogue about the most recent developments in the quest for a drug to cure AIDS。
Reviews
Holly Weston Bull
，
I may be doing this book a disservice by awarding it 4 stars， as my 5-star rating system is likely biased toward books that build on my own preexisting knowledge and against books on subjects about which I know very little。 Billion Dollar Molecule is fascinating even for a biotech know-little like me。 In all honesty， I lost track of some of the many scientists/characters， not to mention some of the science， but I think that fault lies with me， not Werth’s telling。 I most enjoyed the way Werth pr I may be doing this book a disservice by awarding it 4 stars， as my 5-star rating system is likely biased toward books that build on my own preexisting knowledge and against books on subjects about which I know very little。 Billion Dollar Molecule is fascinating even for a biotech know-little like me。 In all honesty， I lost track of some of the many scientists/characters， not to mention some of the science， but I think that fault lies with me， not Werth’s telling。 I most enjoyed the way Werth provided a real sense of the drama and stress inherent at the intersection of biotech and Wall Street。 While I wholeheartedly appreciated his *very* thorough explanation of the relevant drugs and chemistry， I admit that my eyes glazed over at some of the level of detail。 I imagine a reader with more background knowledge of pharmaceuticals and/or biochemistry would appreciate that level of detail more。 Still and all， even for me， this was great - challenging， but ultimately terrific， and especially good on the as-if-you-were-there descriptions of the internecine rivalries amongst the scientists。 Altogether a fascinating read。 。。。more
Arpit Saxena
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Good intro to the world of Pharma for a noob。 Gripping story。 Narrative is quite expectedly biased since the book was commissioned by the protagonist。
Daniel Glass
，
Good but depressingA good look at why drug companies expect large profits。 Many people work around the clock to try to determine the bodies cells， chemicals， and reactions。 These reactions are never guaranteed but if you want to become a chemist or biotechnologist this book is for you。
McKenzie Andrews
，
Starting a drug company seems challenging！ Didn’t really feel like a full narrative arch， but I suppose that’s why there’s a sequel
Maria Nguyen
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I love lab drama and this book was full of it。 As a scientist， I found this book to be an interesting read but very slow and detailed （which I guess is my fault and should’ve anticipated the journalistic style of writing of Barry Werth）。 Still， I enjoyed learning about Vertex and the dedication of the scientists。 Another confirmation of my previous observations that some successful scientists， especially straight men， can only achieve what they do because they have partners who pick up the slack I love lab drama and this book was full of it。 As a scientist， I found this book to be an interesting read but very slow and detailed （which I guess is my fault and should’ve anticipated the journalistic style of writing of Barry Werth）。 Still， I enjoyed learning about Vertex and the dedication of the scientists。 Another confirmation of my previous observations that some successful scientists， especially straight men， can only achieve what they do because they have partners who pick up the slack at home。 。。。more
Sean Moran
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Meh。 I didn't care for the story telling at all。 So many tangents that took away from the key story。 By the time I got to the epilogue i really didn't care anymore。 I wish I just spent the time reading the vertex papers instead Meh。 I didn't care for the story telling at all。 So many tangents that took away from the key story。 By the time I got to the epilogue i really didn't care anymore。 I wish I just spent the time reading the vertex papers instead 。。。more
Matthew Gaines
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Probably one of the best books I've read in recent memory， completely breaks down the idea of how Vertex started in a really compelling way and not just the science （or failure of it） but the egos behind it and how the framework was laid to create a good company Probably one of the best books I've read in recent memory， completely breaks down the idea of how Vertex started in a really compelling way and not just the science （or failure of it） but the egos behind it and how the framework was laid to create a good company 。。。more
Jeffrey Heilenbacher
，
I read "The Billion-Dollar Molecule" because I've had a long-standing interest in drug discovery。 It's an interest that I've pursued during my bachelor's degree in chemistry at Harvard， and now as an MD-PhD candidate at Northwestern。 So I was pleasantly surprised to find that many elements in "Billion-Dollar Molecule" resonated strongly with my own life。 For example， many of the Harvard faculty it mentions are people with whom I have only a few degrees of separation。 I've looked up at R。 B。 Wood I read "The Billion-Dollar Molecule" because I've had a long-standing interest in drug discovery。 It's an interest that I've pursued during my bachelor's degree in chemistry at Harvard， and now as an MD-PhD candidate at Northwestern。 So I was pleasantly surprised to find that many elements in "Billion-Dollar Molecule" resonated strongly with my own life。 For example， many of the Harvard faculty it mentions are people with whom I have only a few degrees of separation。 I've looked up at R。 B。 Woodward's portrait， for instance， while doing problem sets in the chemistry library; and mentors keep telling me that I should get into contact with Stu Schreiber， who is still affiliated with the University。 The same goes for Northwestern's involvement in the story: it prominently features the famous transplant surgeon Thomas Starzl， whose autobiography is sitting on my roommate's shelf。 His own mentor， Loyal Davis， founded a surgical society that some of my classmates are involved in。 And so it goes。What keeps "The Billion-Dollar Molecule" from earning a fifth star， for me， is Barry Werth's writing style。 His sentences interrupt themselves and he overuses appositive phrases。 You never have to wonder what he's trying to say， because he will tell you three or four times， using synonyms， separated by commas。 A related problem is his attempt to add color to the story by departing from his journalistic style。 Werth is at his best when he's reporting dialogue， or even when he's explaining scientific concepts in layman's terms。 When he's trying to describe the Boston winters， or the ambience at an investor conference in the Vista hotel， he struggles。 Atmospheric paragraphs like that can add color to a novel， such as in former President Barack Obama's "Promised Land，" or in Thomas Merton's "Seven-Story Mountain"。 Werth doesn't have their talent。 The book periodically drops names that will be of immense interest to readers with a science background and makes interesting connections between seemingly unrelated topics。 In that regard it feels a little like glimpsing the web that holds modern scientific progress together。 But those exciting interludes are offset by long stretches of boring material with bad prose， making "Billion-Dollar Molecule" a bit of a slog。 。。。more
Lane
，
This book is an excellent peak inside how a small company develops a drug。 You learn about the early days of Vertex Pharmaceuticals， which is now a very successful drug company。 There are lots of takeaways but the biggest one for me was the 'fake it to you make it'。The founder of Vertex， Josh Boger， is obviously a brilliant scientist。 He filled the company with other first grade scientists。 And yet still， Boger had to tell a rosy story to investors that did not line up with the chaos that was go This book is an excellent peak inside how a small company develops a drug。 You learn about the early days of Vertex Pharmaceuticals， which is now a very successful drug company。 There are lots of takeaways but the biggest one for me was the 'fake it to you make it'。The founder of Vertex， Josh Boger， is obviously a brilliant scientist。 He filled the company with other first grade scientists。 And yet still， Boger had to tell a rosy story to investors that did not line up with the chaos that was going on in the firm。The book conveys how complex scientific drug discovery is。 And how even if you try to approach it systematically， with a plan， there is still a whole lot of luck involved。 。。。more
spencer
，
little repetitive， but worth a read。very clearly exposes the ruthlessness of academiaparicularly the academic-industrial complex
Brooke Ury
，
4/10。 This book was interesting as it followed the creation of an idealistic pharmaceutical company。 Even in the age of big pharma， this small company， founded at the perfect time， was able to raise money and publish papers critical to the understanding of immunosuppressants。 However， there was way too much detail into the setting up， financing， and development of the company。 I wish more time had been devoted to describing the research and science behind the development of FK506 and its structu 4/10。 This book was interesting as it followed the creation of an idealistic pharmaceutical company。 Even in the age of big pharma， this small company， founded at the perfect time， was able to raise money and publish papers critical to the understanding of immunosuppressants。 However， there was way too much detail into the setting up， financing， and development of the company。 I wish more time had been devoted to describing the research and science behind the development of FK506 and its structure。 Not to mention， this book was a let down as they spent the whole time trying to build the billion dollar molecule and never actually built it。 And this book is wildly out of date， especially when it comes to the biotechnology industry， which changes rapidly。 But I suppose the idea to build molecules from their structure and not trying to find drugs by sifting through dirt was a pretty novel and cool idea。 。。。more
Yvette
，
This tour de force of the grueling origins of an underdog newly minted biopharma company delivers a marvelous overview of the history of biomedical research along with truisms on the research process as well as the mechanics of the market （and biotech investing in particular）。 I really admire scientific take-charge folks like Josh Boger （founder） who's unwavering confidence in himself， his chosen team and SCIENCE together propel Vertex to prevail against all odds。 When people demand low prices f This tour de force of the grueling origins of an underdog newly minted biopharma company delivers a marvelous overview of the history of biomedical research along with truisms on the research process as well as the mechanics of the market （and biotech investing in particular）。 I really admire scientific take-charge folks like Josh Boger （founder） who's unwavering confidence in himself， his chosen team and SCIENCE together propel Vertex to prevail against all odds。 When people demand low prices for drugs， I hope they learn instead to respect the HARD GRIND & UNCERTAINTY of the research process and realize NOTHING IS GIVEN。 The high price of life-savings drugs reflects the enormous costs （monetary， emotional and physical） of doing research。If you know me， you know I LOVE an underdog story。 Though how much of an "underdgo" could Vertex be， populated as it is with the brainiest folks on the planet （ie， drawn from Harvard， Yale， Merck， 。。。）。 。。。more
Marley Xiong
，
Dense， glorious， one of the highest-information works I've read。 Biotech is a whole world and it's worthwhile to know what it looks like。 Dense， glorious， one of the highest-information works I've read。 Biotech is a whole world and it's worthwhile to know what it looks like。 。。。more
Suzanne Auckerman
，
I read this book a long time ago and decided to read it again。 There were several companies try to make a vaccine to prevent HIV。 I know a few of the people in the book。 The companies were very competitive and did not want to share information。
‘Sup？
，
DNF。 I know this one's rather a classic in biotech， but despite working in the industry and knowing Vertex well， this was just so incredibly boring。 I slogged through ~40% of it before deciding I just couldn't take any more。 DNF。 I know this one's rather a classic in biotech， but despite working in the industry and knowing Vertex well， this was just so incredibly boring。 I slogged through ~40% of it before deciding I just couldn't take any more。 。。。more
John Daley
，
Werth received amazing access to the key players in the story of Vertex - imagine if John Carreyou had been at Theranos from Day 1 （without the fraud） - and does an excellent job recounting the ups and downs of the initial years。 His translation of scientific， technical， and medical concepts is exceptional and allows the reader to understand and follow the challenges and breakthroughs that drive the business narrative。 The book， written in the mid-90s， is also an interesting historical artifact Werth received amazing access to the key players in the story of Vertex - imagine if John Carreyou had been at Theranos from Day 1 （without the fraud） - and does an excellent job recounting the ups and downs of the initial years。 His translation of scientific， technical， and medical concepts is exceptional and allows the reader to understand and follow the challenges and breakthroughs that drive the business narrative。 The book， written in the mid-90s， is also an interesting historical artifact of the era when venture-backed medical companies were bursting onto the scene and pursuing big opportunities with massive execution and scientific risk。 In a year when biomedicine has delivered enormous benefits on the basis of decades of research， experimentation and risk taking， this book is a good reminder of how difficult that process is and why we should encourage more of it。 。。。more
Carlos Moreno
，
"To do science you need money， but to raise money competitively you need to project illusions that are the antithesis of science。" "To do science you need money， but to raise money competitively you need to project illusions that are the antithesis of science。" 。。。more
Juby
，
I expected this book to focus on the challenges of a start-up （funding， hiring， IPO） and the big breakthrough moments。 There was some coverage of the business side - the scientific advisory board， investor meetings and insider scoop on the IPO but the book heavily focused on the scientists and their biographies。 I expected some of that given it is written by a journalist but it was too much。 It didn’t add to the scientific and business side of the story and with many scientists profiles， you ten I expected this book to focus on the challenges of a start-up （funding， hiring， IPO） and the big breakthrough moments。 There was some coverage of the business side - the scientific advisory board， investor meetings and insider scoop on the IPO but the book heavily focused on the scientists and their biographies。 I expected some of that given it is written by a journalist but it was too much。 It didn’t add to the scientific and business side of the story and with many scientists profiles， you tend to forget the details of everyone’s backgrounds。 There were more failures in this book than successes but that represents the reality of biotech and pharma。 Overall， the book was well-researched and provided a insider’s look into R&D and biotech start-ups。 Having worked in biotech and pharma for 7 years， I wish the book spent more time on the business side。 。。。more
Amin Zargar
，
This is a captivating re-telling of a well-funded pharmaceutical company at the dawn of the biotechnology era。 A history of scientific development of pharmaceuticals is peppered through the novel， with fascinating stories about George Merck， Max Tishler， Robert Woodward Burns， among others。 One issue I had was that the writing is a bit too effusive at times in the description of these scientists。
Liam Du Ross
，
A brilliant insight into the cutting edge of drug discovery and the highly talented people who inhabit that area of research。 Beware that this book contains a fair amount of chemistry terms and concepts， but in my opinion， the author breaks them down to easy to understand bites。
Callum Yule
，
When I began this book I knew very little about biotech companies。 However， Werth kept me engaged throughout。 This book is a biography of the early years of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the late 1980's and 1990's before it became the $70b company it is today。 By the end of this book it is still well short of that too。 This book explains the financial and scientific difficulties experienced， the sheer amount of time it takes to create a marketable drug and the many false starts along the way。 This b When I began this book I knew very little about biotech companies。 However， Werth kept me engaged throughout。 This book is a biography of the early years of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the late 1980's and 1990's before it became the $70b company it is today。 By the end of this book it is still well short of that too。 This book explains the financial and scientific difficulties experienced， the sheer amount of time it takes to create a marketable drug and the many false starts along the way。 This book is well researched and Werth had great access to all the key people in the book。 。。。more
Michael Knolla
，
A very dramatic history that arguably leans heavier on the personalities involved than the science， though it doesn’t ignore the latter。 Loses a star for me though in that too much of the “finale” is just basically briefly summarized in an epilogue。 Know the author wrote a follow up but the net result was， despite the book’s length， I felt short changed by the material。
Jesse Coker
，
A blast the entire way， especially as a scientist。 Filled with insights and just a wonderful window into industrial science and start-up biotech。 Excellent。
Maddie
，
This was a well-written book about a biotech start-up trying to intelligently design new drugs。 Werth did a great job explaining the science of drug discovery in accessible ways。 The main issue I had with the book was that it was too long， and sometimes had too much unnecessary detail。 I got the sense Werth was waiting around for Vertex to actually successfully design a drug， and finally gave up and published the book without them having done so （though they eventually did）。
Tyler Burns
，
You can watch my review here:https://youtu。be/35eOJtW0ZjE You can watch my review here:https://youtu。be/35eOJtW0ZjE 。。。more
Keith
，
部分是叙事方式问题，部分可能是翻译问题，实在读不下去了，读了两次都是100页劝退。
Kim Jackson
，
A gripping page turner for anyone interested in medicine， pharmaceuticals， healthcare， or business。
Barbara
，
too technical for the average ready， but interesting nonetheless。 I preferred The Antidote， which is the follow up to this first book about Vertex
Ben
，
A very interesting story of a pharmaceutical startup。 So much hype， with no solid basis， and yet they survive。 Werth does a good job explaining the business， the science， and the experience of doing the science。 > Scientists， unlike， say， athletes， conjure their own competition。 They seldom know precisely whom they’re competing with or where they are in the race。 They hear things—rumors， reports—but the information comes at a distance and with a price: It may be exaggerated， deliberately mislead A very interesting story of a pharmaceutical startup。 So much hype， with no solid basis， and yet they survive。 Werth does a good job explaining the business， the science， and the experience of doing the science。 > Scientists， unlike， say， athletes， conjure their own competition。 They seldom know precisely whom they’re competing with or where they are in the race。 They hear things—rumors， reports—but the information comes at a distance and with a price: It may be exaggerated， deliberately misleading， or simply false。 The atmosphere in a lab in the throes of a heated project is insular， secretive， xenophobic， superheated， and paranoid。> "There's two situations where you want to be aggressive about publishing。 One is when you're behind; the other is when you're ahead。 When you're ahead， you demoralize the other guy。 When you're behind， you have nothing to lose。 It's when you don't know that you want to be most careful。" 。。。more
Christopher Benassi
，